How Orange Is Our Valley?

All is forgiven, Missouri Valley Conference. It hurt to watch you flirt with Omaha, Des Moines and Kansas City. But we knew, in the end, you'd keep the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament right here at Scottrade Center (South 14th Street and Clark Avenue; 314-241-1888 or www.scottradecenter.com). It just makes sense: You bring hoop-deprived St. Louis fans the best basketball we'll see all year, and in return we enable you to make the delicious pun "Arch Madness." Current top-twenty squad Drake, returning champs Creighton and local faves SIU-Carbondale are three more reasons we just can't stay mad at you, MVC. Opening round tips off at 6:05 p.m. Thursday; games continue through the weekend until the championship game at 1:05 p.m. Sunday (March 6 through 9). Tickets are $28 per session (two games per session, except for the final) or $100 for all nine games. For more information see www.archmadness.com.
March 6-9, 2008